Stuck, who is retiring from her full-time employment in April, said, “The timing is right for me. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time…ever since Katy Kimura was mayor. I admired her as our city mayor. She was very personable and she handled the city and the budget very well.”
Clayton Katy Kimura served 2 ½ terms as mayor of South Bend from 1972-1980.
“I believe I have the qualifications to be the mayor of South Bend,” Struck said. “I am a person of integrity and I’m a very logical person.
“The entire county is struggling with the economy,” she continued. “It’s an economic crisis. I am good with budgets. We need to balance needs versus wants – necessities versus things we want. South Bend needs to establish a Rainy Day Fund. Finances need to be set-aside in case something (unforeseen) happens. We just need some good common sense. We need to look at expenditures and finances and set the Wish List aside.”
Struck has worked at Safeway for 35 years and served as the produce department manager for 28 years. She started at Safeway’s Raymond location in February 1978. She started as a checker and worked her way up, and is currently a checker again. She plans to retire from that job in April 2014.
“I’ve been in the hiring and firing process and I know how to control a budget,” Struck said.
Struck said that she “served as the South Bend High School Booster Club President a few years. She was her class Salutatorian while graduating with a grade point average of 3.98. Struck is the pastor at Pentecostal Church of God in Doty. She has two sons, Jason Ashley, who is a sergeant with the State Patrol, and Jon Ashley, who works for the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy. She is married to Ron Struck.